Distribution of Arsenite-Oxidizing Bacteria and its Correlation with Temperature in Hot Springs of the Tibetan-Yunnan Geothermal Zone in Western China |
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| Authors: | Geng Wu Qiuyuan Huang Jian Yang Laura Webb |
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| Institution: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China;2. Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA |
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| Abstract: | The distribution of arsenite-oxidizing bacteria in response to temperature is of great importance to an understanding of biogeochemical cycling of arsenic in geothermal features. The abundance and diversity of arsenite-oxidizing bacteria were investigated in the geothermal features of Tengchong County of Yunnan Province, Dachaidan County of Qinghai Province, and Tibet. The abundance of aioA genes, which encode the large subunit of arsenite oxidase, was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reactions. The diversity of aioA genes was studied by PCR-cloning-based phylogenetic analyses. The results showed that the aioA gene abundance increased as temperature decreased, whereas its diversity at the OTU level (97% cutoff) increased with increasing temperature. This suggests that temperature played an important role in affecting aioA gene distribution and thus arsenic speciation. The aioA gene population (at OTU level) differed among the studied regions, indicating geographic isolation may be an important factor controlling aioA gene distribution in hot springs. |
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| Keywords: | arsenic oxidation aioA gene hot springs temperature Western China |
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